What seems like a vacation is really a huge test for Canada’s under-17 women’s soccer squad, which is taking part in the FIFA U-17 World Cup tournament. Kinzner, a member of the Calgary Foothills Soccer Club, is the Number 10-wearing midfielder on that team.

“It’s very exciting,” the Grade 11 Bishop Grandin student related from Liberia, where Canada will play its first game on Saturday against Germany.

“It’s such an honour to represent your country. It’s such an opportunity. The girls are awesome and it’s a great environment to learn and become a better soccer player and just grow as a person.

“Ever since I was five I always dreamed of representing my country and playing for Canada. It’s so cool how it’s actually happening.”

For Tommy Wheeldon, Calgary Foothills’ technical director, Kinzner’s inclusion on the team is a testament to her unique talent.

“An enigma,” he said of Kinzner. “I think the best way to describe her, an absolute enigma because she does these things that kind of blow your mind. What we’ve done is, we call it skilful neglect as a coach. We allow her to have this creativity, we’ve told her ‘do whatever you can in the final third’. In these two thirds, we stick to a bit of a game plan but be as creative as you want in the final third. She’s creative, she’s skilful, she’s clever and all these things now that tick the boxes to get on that national stage she has in abundance.”

“I feel like I try to set up my teammates and helping others out on the field rather than try to go for it myself,” Kinzner offered. “I love being the person to assist another and I love how happy it makes them feel when they get a goal. It’s a great feeling.”

Kinzner made her debut in the Canadian youth program at 15 and was on the team that won silver at the 2013 CONCACAF women’s under-17 championship in Montego Bay, Jamaica.

“She’s already been identified to be fast-tracked into the higher level, so she’s been around the U20 camp already,” Wheeldon continued. “I think with (national team coach) John Herdman’s plan, he’s put a program in place now that he’s trying to identify these players younger and give them experience. If you look, the women’s national team is playing the Cyprus Cup and I just read that in their last game against Ireland, they had all four players under the age of 24 along their back line. So he’s definitely planning for the future and Sarah Kinzner would tick that box because of her heavy involvement.

“She was given the Number 10 shirt in the last CONCACAF tournament and that’s quite a prestigious number in the starting 11. That’s your playmaker. So she’s definitely on their radar for bigger things.”

Kinzner is just another in a long roster of Calgary Foothills youngsters who have taken their game to another level, Owen Hargreaves and Kevin McKenna headlining that list.

“And now Sarah is part of the next generation on the female side,” added Wheeldon. “We’re really proud because we talk about having a centre of excellence for our elite players and to achieve excellence, to be involved in the national game, we’re delighted that these players are now starting to get up there.”

Interestingly for a youngster, she is cautiously optimist about her future.

“Hopefully, I can make it there,” she said. “I’ll just keep working hard; now I’m thinking more short term, I haven’t thought much about long-term.”

After Germany, Canada plays Korea DPR on Tuesday and will finish the group stage with a match against Ghana on March 22.

“Clearly, it’s going to be hard to get out of the group stage, but Bev Priestman has done a great job coaching us,” noted Kinzner. “She really knows her stuff so I think if we stick to the game plan, we can achieve greatness.”

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